4 A. WATSON 



Museum. A lectotype has been selected from each syntypic series, and a neotype 

 selected for Nidara croceina Mabille and for Drepana tetrathyra Mabille. 



In addition to the collection of Drepanidae in the British Museum (Natural 

 History), important material was borrowed from the following museums and 

 institutions : 



Carnegie Museum, Pittsburgh, U.S.A. ; Coryndon Museum, Nairobi, Kenya ; 

 Durban Museum, South Africa; Institut d'Enseignement et de Recherches tropicales, 

 Bondy, France ; Institut de Recherche scientifique a Madagascar, Tananarive ; 

 Institut fur Spezielle Zoologie und Zoologisches Museum der Humboldt Universitat, 

 Berlin, D.D.R. ; Museum d'Histoire naturelle, Geneva, Switzerland ; Museum 

 national d'Histoire naturelle, Paris, France ; Musee Royal de l'Afrique centrale, 

 Tervuren, Belgium ; National Museums of Southern Rhodesia, Bulawayo ; 

 Naturhistorisches Museum, Vienna, Austria; Naturhistoriska Riksmuseet, Stock- 

 holm, Sweden ; Senckenbergische Naturforschende Gesellschaft, Frankfurt a.M, 

 Germany ; Transvaal Museum, Pretoria, South Africa. 



The examined material of each species is listed fully. The data is divided into 

 sections according to the museum or institution containing the specimens con- 

 cerned. 



ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 



My sincere thanks are due to Dr. P. Viette, who suggested that I studied the 

 Madagascan material preserved in the Museum national d'Histoire naturelle, Paris. 

 I should also like to thank Dr. P. Real, who first indicated to me the need for a 

 revision of the Drepanidae of Africa and arranged the loan of material from his 

 institute. Mr. R. H. Carcasson, Dr. E. Pinhey and Dr. L. Vari gave valuable help 

 regarding African localities as well as lending me much useful material. I am 

 grateful to the Trustees of the Coryndon Museum, Nairobi, for the presentation of 

 several important specimens. Dr. H. K. Clench very kindly prepared for me 

 drawings and photographs of types under his care and lent me other important 

 material. Dr. R. Pujol was kind enough to lend me the useful material collected 

 by him during periods of duty in Africa. Dr. B. J. MacNulty presented some 

 important specimens to me from his private collection. I am also greatly indebted 

 to the following specialists, who have helped mainly by selecting material for me 

 from their respective institutions : Dr. L. A. Berger, Dr. C. Besuchet, Dr. P. A. 

 Clancey, Dr. D. Duckworth, Dr. E. Franz, Dr. P. Griveaud, Dr. H. Hannemann, 

 Dr. B. Hanson, Dr. F. Kasy and Dr. P. Malzy. My colleagues in London have been 

 a constant source of help at every stage in the work. I am especially indebted to 

 Dr. I. W. B. Nye and Mr. P. E. S. Whalley who read the manuscript and made 

 numerous helpful suggestions. The drawings initialled " A.S." were prepared by 

 the Department's artist Mr. Arthur Smith, those initialled "J.E.S." by Mrs. J. E. 

 Saunders. 



SUBFAMILY CLASSIFICATION 



It is proposed to give a fuller treatment of the subfamilies of Drepanidae at a 

 later date in a revisionary catalogue of the world genera. However, as both of the 



